Thursday, August 20, 2009

The guys were on a high last night after the 2-0 win at Chicago, but they were also aware of the task that was still at hand with Saturday's game at D.C. United.

Here is what the guys had to say last night.

Los Angles Galaxy Head Coach Bruce Arena:

On the win:

Our guys have played well over the last seven or eight games, it’s put us right back in the thick of things. Coming here and playing solid defensively and getting the first goal of the game was critical. I think our guys, tactically, played a really good game.

We were solid for 90 minutes and really limited Chicago with their chances. Chicago is a very good team.

Both teams were coming off weekend games, and it’s never easy. I give our team a lot of credit for recovering after a disappointing loss on Saturday and ready to play in Chicago on Wednesday. That’s a great win for our team.

LOS ANGELES GALAXY FORWARD MIKE MAGEE

On his goal and assist

“It’s a great feeling, after a 2-0 loss at home. Being from the Chicago area to come home and play in front of friends and family on a nationally televised game is special, but to get a win is the most important thing.”

LOS ANGELES GALAXY CAPTAIN LANDON DONOVAN

On his goal:

“The ball was cleared and I jumped over Logan [Pause] and got a little touch to Jovan [ Kirovski] brought it down to Mike [Magee], I kept my run going and Mike played a great ball into me and I just wanted to get into a good spot, and hit it hard on goal.”

On scoring against the run of play

“At home the Fire does a good job of keeping possession, but they were never dangerous. They can have the ball if they want but if they are not threatening our goal, that’s fine.”

On his 200th game

“I’m very proud of it. At the end of day, it doesn’t mean a whole lot, I’d like to have 200 more but I am proud that I’ve been able to stick around that long.”

On bouncing back from the Seattle loss:

“We expect to win every time we play. We were fairly disappointed after the Seattle game so this was a big game for us and an important win for the team.”

On playing without Beckham:

“Not having David on the field hurts us for sure. The guys that played tonight did a great job, we kept them from having a shot on goal. It was a good day for us.”

And from the other locker room...

CHICAGO FIRE COACH DENIS HAMLETT

“We needed to shoot – we had zero shots on goal. So,that sort of sums up the night. You can’t win a game when you don’t have shots on goal.”

“Tonight was not our best night all around. For whatever reason, big game, big crowd, we weren’t sharp from the get go – there was no sense of urgency. There’s some credit to LA – they came in and were well organized and got behind the ball and waited for us to make some mistakes. The first goal was a classic - they caught us on the counter. We had a chance to make a play with Wilman [Conde] and Dasan [Robinson], and we didn’t. They get their first goal, once they got that, they sent in a wave to let us make a mistake.”

“We talked about coming in and being organized. I thought the back five did well tonight. We just needed to play with some urgency, use the flanks. We just didn’t play with urgency. Overall, it just wasn’t our night. We’re not going to feel sorry for ourselves – we have a game on Sunday and that’s going to be important.”

CHICAGO FIRE FORWARD PATRICK NYARKO

On the Galaxy Defense:

“They stopped us from playing our game and getting anything going. Unfortunately it wasn’t our day.”

On the loss:

“We just played right into their hands. They came up with a game plan and stuck to it; they pinched us and we couldn’t alter our game and played straight to their hands.”

CHICAGO FIRE MIDFIELDER JOHN THORRINGTON

On the team’s performance:

“It just wasn’t good enough. Front to back, I don’t think they created too many chances, but they waited for us to make mistakes. They took their chances well. 1-0 we’re still in the game, and you have Landon who can run from midfield and score a goal from nothing. Aside from the result, we’re all disappointed with the performance tonight.

CHICAGO FIRE GOALKEEPER JON BUSCH

On the match:

“We were all off tonight. Bottom line, it wasn’t good enough. Big players need to step up in games, and none of us did.”

On the team’s performance:

“We didn’t play effective soccer – that’s what wins games and what LA just did to us. That’s what got us 3 points in Kansas City. Tonight wasn’t effective soccer. It’s plain and simple. If you can’t get up for big games like this, I don’t know what the problem is. It doesn’t have to be fancy soccer; it has to be effective soccer.”

8 comments:

Max the Lone Galaxy Fan in Chicago
said...

Such a great game to watch. Thanks Landon for celebrating your Goal in front of me at Section 103 Row 1. I got an awesome pic!! I was the lone Galaxy fan in a sea of red on that side but by far the loudest. Great to see the team step up after losing some quality guys to fictious red cards given by a ref who thinks he's more of a star on the field then the players! Anyways, I was so glad to see our Galaxy kick ass in my current home town of Chicago. It was a great drive home back into the city :)

This was a superlative win. The team looked great and the line up was perfect, considering those players that couldn't be on the field, due to reds and injuries. I hope Mr. Ricketts is okay - never good when we see blood. I commend the team and Bruce for this comeback!!!Good luck on Saturday.

I love to be proven wrong, and I have to say that aafter this game, Mr. Miglioranzi has done that. His CONSISTENT effort, fight and tenacity last night was a thing of beauty to finally see. Please, please, please, keep it up. Our back four were amazing. I cannot say enough about both AJDLG and Todd Dunivant. Mike Magee was HUGE. LD was moving well and opening up the field. Chris Birchall was solid and I hope to see more of and from him in the games to come. Donovan Ricketts man; how did he get up from that?Great game fellas! Bwell in your travels and I hope you show up the same way in D.C. RESPECT!!!!

Hear Hear! It was good to see us perform to the level that we did. Not only were we short handed, but coming off that despicable loss at HDC; we easily could have done allowed that to change our tone. But, we didn't.

There is still 24 points out there to grab so, the season's not done. First we go to our nation's capital and clip the wings of DC United. We then come to OUR house and gut some goats. OUt next stop is where we butcher the bulls of FC Dallas, then go into Toronto and turn them into maple syrup and pour them all over pancakes the following morning.

Following the Maple Leaves we go to Columbus and find diamonds in the mines of the Crew. Our last three matches, we get to extinguish the fire, again, but at the HDC this time. Our second to last match we get thirsty and make some orange juice out of the Dynamo. And lastly, the godforsaken smurfs come to our house and we get to destroy them with 10 times the force and conviction of Gargamel. Let's do this G's! Let's bring the cup back where it belongs, in the warm embrace of Galaxy fans everywhere!

So Max, did you get Becks' autograph? Even though he wasn't there.. Maybe you can contact him, I mean, to get his autograph, through his academy or his charity. But I guess you'll get to see him again after the World Cup.

Yes I was treated well. Fans were friendly and respectful. Fantastic environment!!! Its hard to hate on a team when it has Landon Donovan on it. Chicago is a huge fan of his when he plays for the US at Soldier Field. Toyota Park is no HDC but still a wonderful MLS park. Heck of a beer garden too, and one heck of a steak sandwich!! :) I highly recommend coming out here for a game if you can. As for the Herbalife section....I have no idea what that was about. The chants seemed more geared to the name brand as oppose to the team. Either way, awesome time, and great goals by our guys. I hope we head to DC and ravage them with goals galore. Its time!! By the way, who else is loving Landon's confidence right now? I'm digging the comments about how he is expecting to win every game they play. That's the attitude this teams been needing for quite some time. Go Galaxy!!

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One of Major League Soccer's original clubs, the LA Galaxy play their home games at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. A two-time winner of both the MLS Cup (2002 and 2005) and Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup (2001 and 2005), the Galaxy boast a strong and rich history in MLS and around the world. With a roster that features stars like David Beckham, Landon Donovan, Edson Buddle and more under the eye of general manager and head coach Bruce Arena, the Galaxy will look to return to the pinnacle of MLS in 2010.